Bruins Star Marks Highlight Of Tri-State Trio Of Games In Shootout

The Boston Bruins had another tough stretch of their schedule, playing three games in four days in battles with Tri-State area teams the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and New York Rangers.

In between two overtime losses, the Bruins outlasted the Islanders 5-4 in a thriller at UBS Arena. With the teams battling in a shootout, Boston’s David Pastrnak buried the game-winning goal in rather impressive fashion.

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The win marked the peak of the week for Boston in a draining few days for the team. Ultimately, the Bruins made enough plays in a hard matchup with the Islanders for the shootout victory.

In a new episode of the “Morning Bru” podcast, NESN analysts Billy Jaffe and Andrew Raycroft marveled at the skills of Boston’s elite scorer.

“Pasta comes in with a chance to win it,” Jaffe said. “Oh my. He takes the little move out. The sling. … It’s so fun to see. It’s almost not fair. I haven’t been able to see another guy pull that off.”

Mixing up looks and perfecting his craft as a scorer has been a staple for Pastrnak in finding ways to further elevate his offensive game.

“It’s so different,” Raycroft added. “We haven’t seen it. I’ve never seen it. … It got better, too. He had a hand curl. He’s doing it every day.”

As a former goaltender himself, Raycroft detailed the challenges of stopping Pastrnak’s shot, especially in clutch situations.

“His ability to hide the release and still get the velocity on the shot that he does, you’re virtually just getting hit with it,” Raycroft explained.

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Through 29 games, Pastrnak has 17 goals and 24 assists on the season for the Bruins, continuing to make a difference as a scorer.

The Bruins return to action on Tuesday night at TD Garden to host the Minnesota Wild. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.